THAT:

a)     the revised partnership agreement at appendix 1 be approved;

b)     the council’s representatives on the partnership board be the cabinet member economy and corporate services, the chief executive, and the director for economy, communities and corporate;

c)     a loan facility of £300k be made available to the New Model in Technology & Engineering (NMiTE) for a period of up to five years to support the development of the new university on the following conditions:

                            i.          the support of the council for the university project is recognised on all publicity and website;

                          ii.          funding used to bankroll government grant funding is repaid on payment of claims;

                         iii.          in any event repayment will be made in line with the conditions of the loan agreement (within 5 years of the date of the loan agreement)

                         iv.          the loan is for capital funding, therefore the university must ensure that expenditure incurred using the loan is on things that the council would itself capitalise;

                          v.          the council finance team and audit team will be allowed access to all financial records and procurement records relevant to use of the loan;

                         vi.          NMiTE demonstrates that appropriate accounting and reporting processes are in place within the university organisation;

                       vii.          NMiTE will follow the council’s contract procedure rules when using council funding ensuring best value is achieved; and

                     viii.          any other conditions specific to the draw-down request to be agreed on a case by case basis;

d)     the director for economy, communities and corporate be authorised, following consultation with the cabinet member corporate strategy and budget and chief financial officer and having regard to the views of the joint university project board (JUDB), to approve proposals for drawn down from the loan and any specific conditions to be applied on a case by case basis;

e)     the JUDB will monitor application of the loan and report on outcomes achieved from its use; and

f)      the grant provided in June 2016 to support the development of the university green book business case is varied so that the £9,032 remaining balance of the £30,000 is available to  NMiTE to commission activities supporting implementation of the university.